Sakura as Cinderella
by Gothic Dancer
Summary: 5th story in the Naruto Disney Princesses. Sakura dreams of freedom away from her evil stepmother and stepsisters. She'll soon realize that all it takes is hope, magic, and a dream. SasuSaku


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Walt Disney and Gothic Dancer proudly present:

_Sakura as Cinderella_

_Once upon a time, in a faraway land, there was a happy, prosperous kingdom full of pleasant, successful people. Among them was a young man named Kakashi, who was known as one of the kingdom's most popular and hard-working citizens. He was widowed at a young age, but he still had his daughter, a beautiful young girl named Sakura. He blessed cheerful, loving Sakura with everything her heart could ever desire, but he felt as though she should know a mother's love, so he quickly married a widowed woman named Tsunade. She was rich, beautiful, from a good family, and had two daughters around Sakura's age of her own. The younger was a pretty blonde by the name of Ino, and the older was a dark-haired beauty named Kin. For a short period of time, the five of them lived happily together._

_However, poor Kakashi sudden fell ill and died, leaving his poor daughter alone with her stepmother and stepsisters. Sakura barely even had time to grieve, because, once Kakashi was pronounced dead, the true colors of Tsunade and her daughters began to show._

_Jealous of Sakura's beauty and kindness, Tsunade forced the girl to become a servant in her own home. Ino and Kin quickly caught on to torturing their stepsister, and the never-ending orders began. They forced Sakura to clean the entire mansion, cook all the meals, wash all the clothes, and tend to the family farm every single day. Sakura wasn't even allowed a proper room and clothes. She slept in the attic and wore rags, never allowed to go out unless it was for chores and definitely not allowed to dress up like other girls her age._

_Regardless of her situation, Sakura remained beautiful and cheerful, making friends with the mice and birds in the attic. Every day, she obeyed her stepfamily's commands, but every night, she dreamed a new life, one where she was free..._

The clock tower in the distance chimed loudly as the sun rose over the horizon, welcoming a new day. Birds sang their song in the open window of Sakura's room, where the girl was happily snuggled underneath her blankets, her face buried in her soft pillow. She groaned as the birds chirped in her ear but eventually awoke and sat up in bed, yawning a bit. "Ah, good morning," she greeted, smiling. "You know, I was having the nicest dream. It was so beautiful...Oh, what? No, I can't tell you!" she snapped playfully when the birds gave a questioning chirp. "Don't you know? If you tell someone your dream, it won't come true." She gave a soft smile as the mice scurried out from under her bed. "After all, a dream is a wish your heart makes."

Suddenly, the clock tower struck again, completely ruining the mood. Sakura gave an annoyed huff and flung the bed sheets off herself, standing. "Oh, FINE!" she hissed. "I'm up! I'm up! Killjoy..." She growled bitterly and grabbed her work clothes. "Even that stupid clock orders me around." She looked down at the mice and grinned. "But you know what? No one can stop me from dreaming."

With that, Sakura, with the help of the birds and the mice, cleaned up, put on her clothes, made her bed, and went to the stairs. "I'm off to work!" she called.

"Wait! Sakura!"

The young girl looked down to see one of the mice trying to get her attention. She bent down to his level. "Hmm?" she asked. "What is it, Naruto?"

"There's a new mouse, dattebayo!" Naruto announced. "He was caught in the trap this morning!"

"Oh!" Sakura realized. "I'll have to go get him and give him a home!" Sakura ran down the stairs and found the trap at the base. Sure enough, inside was an adorable, plump, little mouse. "You poor thing," she murmured sympathetically. "I bet you're scared to death." She opened the cage, and the mouse slowly tip-toed outside and smiled, happy to be free.

"Hey there!" Naruto shouted at the new mouse. "My name's Naruto! Welcome to the family, kid! What's your name, dattebayo?" He shook the mouse's hand, smiling enthusiastically.

The new mouse grinned shyly. "I'm, uh, Chouji!" he replied, shaking Naruto's hand.

Sakura pulled a tiny set of clothes from her pocket. "Here you go, Chouji," she laughed. "You can wear these." She dressed the chubby mouse and giggled sweetly. "Aw, it looks like they're a little small. They're very cute on you though!" She stood and made her way for the mansion. "I have to get to work now. Naruto, why don't you show Chouji around so he can get used to living here?"

Naruto saluted the girl. "You can count on me, Sakura!" he cheered as the girl left. He then turned to Chouji. "Okay, Chouji, it's breakfast time, dattebayo. But first, I gotta tell you about Kankuro."

"Kankuro?" Chouji repeated. "Who's Kankuro?"

"Big mean kitty!" Naruto cried, making a scary face. "He likes to chase and eat mice like us! We have to avoid him, dattebayo. Come on, I'll show you." Naruto took Chouji's hand and led him through a hole in the wall that led to the basement.

Meanwhile, Sakura quietly walked through one of the mansion's grand hallways and opened the door that led to Tsunade's bedroom. "Psst," she whispered, "Kankuro, it's time to get up!"

The cat sleeping in the corner of the room looked up at the girl and snorted, as if to shoo her away. Reluctantly, he got to his paws and walked out of the room, following Sakura down to the basement.

Sakura grinned when she saw the family dog Kiba sleeping in the center of the floor. "Good morning, Kiba," she greeted as she began preparing breakfast for her family. "Did you have good dreams?" She smirked when the dog nodded. "Did you finally catch Kankuro?"

The dog barked happily and nodded its head. Kankuro hissed quietly. "Then shame on you!" Sakura scolded. Kankuro suddenly perked up. "I know it's hard, Kiba," the girl began, "but we all have to learn to get along in this house. Can you try to be nice to Kankuro?" She frowned and returned to work.

Kankuro suddenly cooked up a very naughty plot. He silently pulled at Kiba's tail, and the dog barked loudly, going to attack the cat. Sakura gasped and looked down at the two animals fighting, putting her hands on her hips. "Kiba!!" she screeched. "Bad dog!" She shooed Kankuro away and led Kiba outside to punish him.

Kankuro thought all was well until Sakura glared at him. "And you, Kankuro, need to be better behaved as well. I know that you don't like Kiba, but you HAVE to respect him and his boundaries!" She shook her head and threw the seeds to the chickens outside.

It was then that the mice came into the basement, running out to the farm before Kankuro could see them. Chouji almost didn't make it back though, because he was a little bit slower than the other mice. Naruto gasped when his friend's only option was to hide underneath one of the teacups Sakura had placed on the breakfast trays. He couldn't even help him, because the bells connected to Tsuande's, Ino's, and Kin's rooms sounded. Sakura picked up the trays and made her way upstairs.

Once she made it to the top, Sakura opened the first door to the older stepsister's room. "Good morning, Kin," she greeted happily. "Did you sleep well?"

"It's about time you got here!" Kin roared, snatching her tray of breakfast bread and tea from the girl. "Take my laundry downstairs and get it done in no more than an hour, got me?!" She shoved the bread into her mouth.

Sakura sighed. "Yes, Kin, I understand." She took the bag of dirty clothes from the room and went next door, where her younger stepsister's room was. "Good morning, Ino," she tried again, attempting to be cheerful. "How did you sleep?"

Ino yawned. "Oh, fine," she replied smugly. "Take my laundry, okay? I want it back soon." She took her tray from her stepsister and fixed her tea. "Make sure you wash my delicates by hand."

Sakura nodded. "Yes, I understand," she agreed. In a way, Ino was a bit nicer than Kin. She didn't treat Sakura as harshly, and she wasn't as demanding. That's not to say she was polite to Sakura though.

Finally, Sakura made her way to her stepmother's room. "Good morning, Tsunade," she began. "I brought your breakfast."

"Very good, Sakura," the woman mentioned. "You may take my laundry." She didn't say another word as she took her tray. Sakura nodded and grabbed the last bag, walking out of her stepmother's room.

No sooner had she made her way downstairs, Sakura heard a terrified shriek coming from Ino's room. She dropped all the bags and ran back to the rooms to see what the problem was. Ino burst from the door and screamed, pointing inside. "THERE WAS A HIDEOUS RAT IN MY TEACUP!!" she squealed.

Kin emerged from her room, her eyes wide. She stared at Sakura, smirking evilly as her mother shouted, "SAKURA!!"

"You are SO going to get it," the black-haired girl snickered.

Scared, Sakura walked back to the woman's room, dreading what was in store. When she opened the door, Kankuro slipped by her feet and hopped up onto his master's bed. Sakura closed the door and walked up to the bed where he stepmother was sipping tea. The woman looked at the girl with steely, disappointed eyes. "So, Sakura," she began, "it seems that you have enough time on your hands for practical jokes. If that's the case, I don't see why I shouldn't give you more chores to occupy your time." She took a sip of tea. "Today, you can do the laundry, wash the dishes, scrub the floors, clean the tapestries, mop up the kitchen, wipe the windows, and clean the porch, all on top of your _normal_ chores." She grinned. "You're dismissed. Get to work."

The nearby palace was no happier. Prince Sasuke had recently returned from traveling, but his older brother Itachi was frustrated with him. Ever since their parents had passed on, young Itachi had been forced to take the throne, but he really didn't like his position. He was hoping his younger brother would marry so he could be the king, but Sasuke was showing no signs of settling down anytime soon.

"Kisame, what am I going to do?" Itachi groaned, staring at a portrait of his younger brother hanging up on the wall. "I sent Sasuke specifically on that trip so he would meet the next kingdom's princess. Didn't you think she was pretty?"

"Princess Karin, you mean?" Kisame, Itachi's assistant, asked. He shrugged. "She was plenty pretty. I had heard that Sasuke liked redheads, so you'd think he would have liked her a little bit more. Maybe it was the glasses..."

Itachi raised an eyebrow. "I don't think the glasses had much to do with it," he sighed. "Sasuke just hasn't met a girl he's liked enough yet. We need to find some way to get him to meet a lot of girls. One of them must be everything he's looking for." He kept his eyes on the portrait for a few more seconds, but then he looked back at Kisame, his eyes bright with an idea. "I've got it! We'll throw a ball! We'll invite all the eligible girls in the kingdom, and we'll have all of them introduce themselves to Sasuke. He's got to like at least one of them! Send out the invitations, Kisame!"

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

Meanwhile, Sakura was busy working on her extra chores. She was having a hard time concentrating though, because her stepsisters' music lesson was going on upstairs. Ino was a terrible flute player, and Kin had a terrible voice. "Sing, sweet nightingale!" she cried out, her voice cracking.

Kankuro couldn't take the singing either. He made his way downstairs, where Sakura was working. The young girl was scrubbing up the lobby floors, singing the same song to herself, only her voice was much prettier. "Sing, sweet nightingale..." she sighed, throwing the rag into the bucket of water. But when she looked up, she realized that Kankuro had gotten into the nearby dustpan, and his dirty footprints were all around the floor she had just cleaned. "Kankuro!" she scolded. "Bad cat!"

Just then, a knock came to the door. Sakura opened it and accepted the letter from the royal postman. She thanked him kindly and took the envelope to Tsunade, Ino, and Kin. She walked into the music room, holding the letter out. "Tsunade..."

"Sakura!" the stepmother cried out. "I told you never to interrupt our lessons!"

"But it's a letter from the palace..."

"THE PALACE?!" Ino and Kin squealed together. They grabbed the letter from their stepsister and tried to read it when their mother took it away.

Tsunade read the message quickly and gasped. "Oh my...! It's an invitation to a royal ball! All the eligible maidens throughout the land are invited to come and meet the prince! Prince Sasuke!"

"PRINCE SASUKE?!" her daughters squealed again.

"That means I can go, too!" Sakura realized. "It says that all the eligible maidens can come, and I'm quite eligible."

Ino and Kin shook their heads in disbelief and ran to their mother. "Oh, Mother, no, she can't! You can't let her!" they insisted.

Tsunade shrugged. "But she _is_ eligible." She turned back to Sakura. "How about this? If you can finish all your work and find something suitable to wear, then you may go."

Sakura's face lit up with happiness. "Oh, thank you, Tsunade, thank you!" she cried out excitedly. "I'll finish everything right away!" With that, Sakura ran out of the room to finish her work.

Ino and Kin were in awe. "Mother, do you realize what you just SAID?!" Ino sobbed.

"You can't let her go!" Kin complained.

Tsunade just grinned. "Girls, it's okay," she murmured. "I said, 'if'."

Sakura ran up to her room to find something suitable to wear. She pulled a pretty but old fashioned dress from a trunk and placed it on the sewing model in her room. "What do you think?" she asked the mice. The little critters shook their heads, and Sakura sighed. "It was my mother's, so I know it's a little old, but it's still nice, right? All it needs are a few ruffles and maybe some lace..."

"SAKURA!!" Kin and Ino screamed, calling their stepsister down to help them with their clothes. Sakura sighed.

"I guess my dress will have to wait until later." She frowned and left, trudging down the stairs.

Naruto looked at the dress sadly. "Poor Sakura," he mumbled. "Every time she gets a minute, that's when they begin it, dattebayo! Every day it's all, 'Sakura! Sakura!' Do this, do that! All Sakura wants is to fix her dress and go to the ball."

Tenten and Hinata, the two female mice, sighed, but then Tenten got an idea. "Hey! We can fix her dress for her!" Hurry! Hinata, let's so this up! Naruto, Chouji, you can get the trimmings!"

That evening, Ino and Kin were all dressed up and getting ready to go to the ball. The coach had arrived, and Tsunade was waiting by the door. She pretended to frown when she saw Sakura still dressed in rags. "Why aren't you dressed, Sakura?" she asked.

Sakura looked up sadly. "I'm, um, not going," she replied quietly. "I...don't have something nice to wear."

Tsunade shrugged. "Oh well. There will be more balls. But in the meantime, keep working. Ino, Kin, are you girls almost ready?"

Sakura solemnly walked back to her room in the attic, listening to her stepsisters complain about their old clothes. Apparently, Ino thought a sash of hers was ugly, and Kin was sick of a bead necklace. Sakura just shook her head. Even if she had just one nice thing, she would be so thankful for it.

Her wish was granted when she opened the door to her room. "SURPRISE!!" the mice cried, revealing the dress they had finished. It was a lovely pink gown with ribbons and frills all over the place.

Sakura was so happy! It was just how she had wanted it! "OH, THANK YOU!!" she squealed excitedly. "Thank you so much!"

Ino, Kin, and Tsunade were just about to leave when Sakura emerged from her room, dressed in her new gown. "Wait for me!" she called out. "Look! I made it just in time. What do you think? Do you like my dress?" She twirled about, the lace flying about gracefully. Sakura was so beautiful!

Ino and Kin were in shock, so much they could barely say anything. They looked up at their mother, who just smiled. "Well, it's quite a pretty dress," Tsunade agreed. "Oh, how nice. These beads look great, don't you think, Kin?"

The older stepsister crossed her arms and growled, "No, they do NOT!" she insisted. "They look...Hey, wait! Those are MY beads! Oh, you little thief! You stole them from me! Give them back!" She grabbed at the beaded necklace and tore it away from Sakura, the beads crashing to the floor.

"And that's my sash!" Ino realized, tearing it away from her stepsister. "How DARE you?! You awful child! So selfish!"

Sakura tried to stop them, but the girls made quick work of her dress, tearing it to shreds and leaving her in rags. "Girls, that's enough," Tsunade said calmly, smirking. "Now then, let's go out to the coach." Ino and Kin looked up and nodded, leaving Sakura behind.

Sakura was so depressed and upset that she ran through the mansion, all the way outside to the back yard, where she flung herself on a nearby bench. She cried and whimpered, so sad and disappointed. She had wanted to go to the ball so badly. It wasn't even that she wanted to meet Prince Sasuke. She just wanted to dress up and go out like normal girls her age. The mice watched from nearby. All their fine work had gone to waste, but they were more worried about Sakura. The poor thing...

"There's nothing left to believe in..." Sakura whispered, wiping her eyes. "Nothing left..."

But suddenly, magical sparkles appeared around Sakura, and a sweet-looking woman appeared on the bench to comfort her. "Oh, it'll be alright, sweetheart," the woman cooed, trying to calm to the girl. "It'll be okay."

Sakura looked up and gasped. "Oh my! Who...who are you?" she asked, getting to her feet.

The woman smiled and stood. "My name is Shizune, and I'm your Fairy Godmother!" She pulled a magic wand from thin air and winked. "I've heard your prayers, and I've come to help you, Sakura. I can get you to the ball."

Sakura's eyes widened. "Can you really do that?"

"Of course!" Shizune insisted. "We just need the right words and a little magic!" She looked past Sakura and saw the vegetable garden behind her. "Perfect! We'll use that pumpkin!" She lifted the wand and said, "Bippidy, boppidy, boo!" The pumpkin suddenly came to life, walking towards Sakura and turning into a beautiful coach. Sakura could barely believe her eyes. The magic was real! "And now we'll need a few horses," Shizune continued. She winked at the mice and said the magic words. In no time, the four mice had been transformed into four beautiful, white horses. A horse from the farm became the coachman, and even Kiba had a role! Shizune transformed him into the footman. "Well now," Shizune concluded, "that should do it! You have a wonderful time at the ball, darling!"

"Um..." Sakura began, "don't you think we should do something about my dress?"

Shizune looked at the rags Sakura was wearing. "Good Lord," she realized. "You can't go to the ball like THAT! I'll fix that in no time!" She waved her wand. "Bippidy, boppidy, boo!"

Sakura's dress transformed from rags to a beautiful silver gown, complete with glass slippers. Sakura gasped and looked at her reflection in the water of the nearby fountain. "Oh, it's beautiful. I love it! Oh, this is more than I ever imagined..."

"Wait a second, lovely," Shizune warned. "You only have until midnight. Once the clock strikes twelve, the spell will be broken."

Sakura nodded. "Oh, I understand. Thank you so much!" She hopped into the coach, and it sped off towards the castle.

"Have a great time!" Shizune called.

And she disappeared.

At the ball, Prince Sasuke was nearly disgusted with all the girls he had met so far. He took one look and Kin and Ino when they presented themselves and twitched. This was really the best the kingdom had to offer?

"OH, I GIVE UP!!" Itachi shouted from the balcony. "This is hopeless! WHY is my stupid little brother being so DIFFICULT?!"

Kisame shook his head. "I knew this was a bad idea."

What the two men didn't see was Sakura. She had just arrived at the ball, and she was wandering the hallways of the palace, looking for the main ballroom. Sasuke looked up and gasped. She was, by far, THE most beautiful girl there. He walked right past Ino and Kin, bowing to Sakura.

Itachi looked up and saw his little brother act. "Oh my...Kisame! Look!" Itachi pointed to the couple walking towards a smaller, private ballroom. "I've never seen her before, but it looks like she's caught Sasuke's interest. Kisame, I want you to make sure nothing gets in the way of the two of them!"

Kisame nodded and ran down to the main level.

Ino, Kin, and Tsunade were in awe of this mysterious beauty. "Mother, who is she?" Ino asked.

"I've never seen her before!" Kin gasped. "But she's so pretty!"

Tsunade cocked an eyebrow suspiciously. "She looks...familiar though, don't you think?" She tried getting a closer look, but Kisame stopped her.

Sakura didn't care if her stepfamily was at the ball. She didn't care about anything in the world except for the fact that she was dancing with the most handsome man she had ever seen. He had the most beautiful face and the sweetest, darkest eyes. Sasuke was so captivated by Sakura's lovely smile and bright eyes. The two were soon dancing all across the ballroom, slowly falling in love.

They eventually walked outside and hummed to themselves, lost in each other. "So this is love," Sakura whispered.

"So this is love," Sasuke whispered back.

But soon enough, the clock struck twelve and chimed once...twice...Sakura gasped and stood. "Oh no," she realized. "It's midnight."

"Yes, it is," Sasuke replied. "Why?"

"Oh, goodbye!"

"Wait! You can't go!"

"But I must!"

Sakura ran out of the palace as fast as she could, listening to the clock strike closer and closer to twelve. She was in such a hurry that she lost one of her glass slippers, but she couldn't be bothered like that. She jumped into the coach, and it sped off into the night.

"Stop that coach!" Sasuke shouted. "Itachi, I'll marry that girl!"

Itachi appeared at the entrance of the palace. "What?! Really?!"

Sasuke picked up the glass slipper. "I'll marry the girl who fits this slipper!"

Lucky for Sakura, she made it back to her home just in time. She walked in the front doors of the mansion and realized that she still had the other glass slipper on her foot.

The next day, there was an announcement throughout the kingdom. Kisame had been assigned to go from house to house, searching for the maiden who fit the slipper. When Tsunade heard this news, she told her daughters to get ready to meet Prince Sasuke again. "You both still have a chance!"

Sakura listened quietly. "They have a chance to meet the prince again?" she asked.

Tsunade snapped towards her stepdaughter and sent her a glare. "He found a glass slipper last night from the woman he danced with. He'll marry the girl who fits it!"

"A glass slipper?" Sakura repeated, realizing what it all meant. "And Prince Sasuke...oh my..." That was it. She had danced with none other than Prince Sasuke! "The prince," she gasped. "The prince!" She suddenly had a dreamy look in her eyes, as if she had fallen in love. Ino and Kin were too busy fixing themselves up to notice.

Tsunade narrowed her eyes and realized that Sakura had somehow made her way to the ball the night before. He had to have been her dancing with the prince! There was no other explanation. She followed her silently up to the attic, where Sakura was getting ready to meet with Prince Sasuke. She took the attic key from her dress pocket and held it up so Sakura could see in her mirror's reflection. Sakura gasped and turned in time for her to see her stepmother lock her up in her room. "Oh, no!" she cried out, running towards the door. But she was too late. The door was locked. "No, no!" she sobbed. "Please, no! Please don't do this!" She cried out loudly, and the mice heard her. They scurried out the room and ran down the stairs to fetch the key.

Tsunade had just welcomed Kisame into her home, introducing Ino and Kin to him. Kisame nodded and read the document that held the announcement. Ino and Kin were so excited at the chance of getting to be with the prince. They just needed to fit the slipper! Easy enough!

Of course, their feet were nowhere near the right size, but that was a very minor detail to them.

And what they didn't see were Naruto and Chouji pulling the key from their mother's pocket. Somehow, they managed to drag it across the floor and up to the stairs. There were so many stairs though, so they had to be quick. It was tough on Chouji, who was so slow. He knew he had to get the key to Sakura though. Kin was already trying the slipper on!

Just when the mice got up to the attic, Kankuro appeared behind them and grabbed Chouji, keeping him from giving the key to Sakura on the other side of the door. Sakura heard the little mouse's cries and shouted, "Naruto! Get Kiba! Kiba! Bring Kiba here!"

Naruto quickly scurried through the walls and made it to the basement, beckoning Kiba to the attic. "We've got to free Sakura, dattebayo!" he explained. "Kankuro's stopping us!"

Kiba immediately jumped up and ran up the stairs, all the way to the attic. He barked loudly and frightened Kankuro, who jumped back away from Chouji, giving the mouse just enough time to slip the key under Sakura's door.

Downstairs, neither Kin nor Ino could fit the slipper, and Kisame was getting ready to leave. "Are you sure there are no more eligible girls here?" he asked.

Tsunade nodded. "Yes, that's right. There's no one else here." She smiled politely. "Have a nice day, Sir."

"Wait!"

Everyone looked up and gasped. There was Sakura! "Wait a moment please! If I may, I'd like to try the slipper, too!"

Kisame glared at Tsunade. "I thought you said there was no one else here."

Tsunade smiled nervously. "Oh, she's just my maid, no one really.

"But the announcement says that every eligible girl must try the slipper," Kisame insisted, irritated that the woman had lied to him. "This young lady may try it on."

Tsunade, angry, sneakily tripped the man, and the glass slipper smashed into tiny pieces. "Oh, no!" Kisame gasped. "Oh boy, Itachi's going to kill me..."

"Um, if I may help?" Sakura began. "I have the other slipper!"

Tsunade gasped nearly fell over, especially when everyone saw that the slipper was a perfect fit on Sakura.

Not too long later, Prince Sasuke married his beautiful Sakura. Sakura forgave her stepsisters and wished them good luck in the future. Naruto, Chouji, Hinata, and Tenten cheered for Sakura when she and Sasuke ran for their coach. They were finally married, and they kissed to celebrate.

And they all lived happily ever after.

THE END

Next: Kushina as Giselle


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